I’ve created a new book cover image for Save One. I changed because I wasn’t fully happy with the black and white one. I like colour and I think that it shows the tone of the book a little more. I’m also doing the eleventh edit and I’m hoping that this will be the last one 🙂

I’ve written the first three chapters of a new story. I had writing a skeleton draft of this story last November. I pretty much started with the end in mind and during a plane trip got back into it and added some more events to it.

It’s going to be a young adult fantasy set in a late-medievalist style period, but at the same time, there is also a palace setting that is more advanced in culture and technology but not by much. Think 1600/1700’s.

It mainly follows one girl, Katella, whose brought to the palace in disguise by her half-sister and her father so she can help them stay in power because they have been conning the priests and the royal family. But it is also a time a stress and political intrigue and if they are found out to be lying about what they can do it can be disastrous.

The first two chapters were quite tedious to write. I’m thinking that it may be because I’m still a little burnt out. But I’m planning on writing the scenes I like first, so it’s going to be all over the place, but maybe that will help me as I’m going into this story half blind with what’s going to happen.

I don’t think I’ve ever attempted a YA fantasy before. I’ve don’t a bit of YA and a bit a fantasy. But it wasn’t until last month that I had the idea that combined the two of them. I ran with it and after like twenty chapters am I googling the questions ‘What are the elements of YA fantasy.’

Well, I came across an article that that gives some really good points and I think my story fits in pretty well 🙂 Maybe I need to work on the world building just a tad more because I’m not sure what technology I’m going to include. I’m not sure if I should add computers or the internet yet. This world has TV and newspapers as well as wall phones. Where do I draw the line with what to include and not? As the creator, I can do whatever I like, but readers are going to pick it apart so that I need to have a good reason as to why things are there and not.

Also for a young adult fantasy, I have a lot of adult characters. One half of the storyline are adult characters while the other half is not. The story cannot be what it is without both sides so I’m going to continue with them.

So far I’ve written quite a bit for this story 🙂 But there have been times when I get stuck because I’m mostly pantsing it with a very rough outline of where things should head. When this happens I go back and edit what I’ve done. I find it’s very helpful setting the story in stone. And it makes me see things that need to be changed for the future plot as well. I have also found a title for it 🙂

It’s going to be called Heir Presumptive.

Look it up to meaning to get the vibe of what the story is going to focus on 🙂 I haven’t even finished this story and I’m thinking of a sequel. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

While I was on a holiday in Germany with Chris I got the idea for a new story. It’s mostly a YA (some adult characters will have significant time) fantasy. It’s mostly split between two people with opposing lifestyles that are connected through blood to this now defunct royal family that was wiped out during a revolution thirty years prior.

This family and the other elite class (the Alauri) once had the upper hand by possessing supernatural hereditary traits such as telepathy and occasional telekinesis. With these powers, they held an iron grip on their kingdom until the populace grew too disgruntled with them and coupled with the revelation that their powers were waning, they led a revolt that resulted in their genocide. However, there were survivors that either escaped to other countries and kept themselves hidden. That’s the backdrop of the story.

What the story is currently about is about 16 year old Adria. She lives with her mum in the country where it happened and is aware that she possesses the qualities that got the ruling family murdered. However, she is falling behind in rent and decides that using her powers is the way to go. This is where things start to partially unravel for her, she gets arrested and in an act of mercy is sent off to a boarding school on a charity scholarship. It is through this event that her life changes and she starts to develop a strange friendship with another girl like her called Jane.

While at the same time the surviving members of the ruling class are starting their uprising and return to power. But then there is a hitch in their plan. The man they were planning on following, the heir apparent through blood, but born via surrogate, might not be their ticket. the is a rumour that there is another born before him and has right of leadership over him. However, besides the rumour, there is no concrete evidence and that is causing the issue.

Who is the rightful ruler and where are they? They have to be identified before being discovered to prevent their plan from unravelling.

I’ve currently written 11,000 words and I think it’s going to be a long story. I haven’t a name for it and apart from the beginning, I don’t exactly know where it’s going to go. I think I have an ending that will lead to a sequel, but who knows.

For a while, I was thinking of making it a dystopia, but I do not think that the society as it currently stands meets the requirements. It’s definitely an unpleasant society to be in if you’re a particular person, but it’s more to do with discrimination.